Marine projectile.



H. G. BERENTSEN.

MARINE PROJECTILE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20. 1911.

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

H INVENTOR wfim 6% BY Wd- ATTORNEYS K L w H. (LBERENTSEN.

MARINE PROJECTILE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV 20. 1917.

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 ZEE/Z/FEZX fi /V575 HANS GUSTAV IBERENTSEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MARINE PROJECTILE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

Application filed November 20, 1917. Serial No. 202,982.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HANS GUSTAV Bnann'r- SEN, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Marine Projectiles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to shells and other projectiles and it has special reference to such as are adapted for marine warfare.

One object ofmy invention is to provide a shell that shall be adapted for use against submerged bodies such as submarines or 1n operating against mine fields.

Another object of my invention is to provide an attachment for a shell arranged to be picked up by the shell as it leaves the gun and adapted to materially influence the trajectory of the shell when it strikes the surface of the water, whereby the natural tendency of the shell to ricochet will be abrogated and-furthermore the shell directed in a new but predetermined course under the water.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a screw or propeller member for shells arranged to offer a relatively low resistance to the travel of the shell either in air or in water, in combination with means for deflecting its course to prevent the ricochetting of the shell and to cause it to dive when it hits the surface of the water.

Another object of my invention is to provide suitable and improved means for holding the shell attachments in position to be picked up by the shell as it leaves the gun.

The projectile of my invention not only avoids ricochetting in the ordinary sense of the word but furthermore does not turn endover-end when it strikes the water at an angle, because it embodies means, which takes efl'ect behind or to the rear of the center of gravity of the projectile, for deflecting its course downward into the water.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be set forth hereinafter and in orderthat my invention may be thoroughly understood I will now proceed to describe the same in the following specification and then point out the novel features thereof in ap ended claims.

eferring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a. partiall sectional elevation of a gun and means for olding the deflector attachments of my invention in position to be' picked up by the shell as it leavesthe muzzle of the gun.

2 shows another means for holding the efiector attachments in position at the muzzle of the gun.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a shell di'awn to a larger scale, with the deflector in p ace.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig.5 is a lon 'tudinal section corresponding to Fig. 3, o a modified deflector which constitutes a, perforated embodiment of my invention.

An end elevation of the deflector is shown in Fig. 6.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 3, and 4,-10

represents a gun such as is mounted for example, on a cruiser or submarine chaser, and 11 designates a bracket or holder which is mounted near the muzzle of the gun and has 'a hollow cylindrical socket 12 in which a dedoctor 13 is adapted to be mounted. The socket 12 is coaxial with the muzzle of the gun and the deflector 13, when mounted in position, is adapted to be picked up by a shell such as 14, as it leaves the muzzle of the gun. The shell with the deflectbr in position upon it, is shown in Fi 3. The shell may have a shoulder .15 and the deflector is preferably provided with a constricted section or hub 16 which fits closely onto a cylindrical or slightly tapered surface 17 of the shell and-abuts against the shoulder 15.

. The deflector has an annular flange 18 which is symmetrical with respect to the axis of the shell and flares outwardly from the shell at an angle as clearly shownin Fig. 3.

By reason of the inclination of the surface of the flange the resistance to the travel of the shell with the deflector is not excessive. Nevertheless the flange is in position to engage the surface of the water when the shell strikes. The reaction of the water on the deflector is such as to deflect the shell into thewater and change its course so that it moves downwardly almost at right angles to the surface of the water irrespective of the angle at which the shell strikes the water. i

Since the shell is directed downwardly into the water there is no tendency for it either to ricochet or to turn end over end and the actual deflecting of the shell to a determined course, in a downward direction, is one of the special features of my invention. Referring to Fig. 2, instead of the bracket 11 of Fig 1, a magnetic holder may be provided and may for example comprise a pair of permanent horseshoe magnets 20 which are mounted on the gun near the muzzle and are secured thereto by any suitable means such as a clamping ring 21. The magnets are formed to provide a guide socket 22 to receive the deflector 13.

The arrangement of parts is such that the deflector 13 when inserted in the socket 22 is held firmly in position by the magnetic attraction. An electromagnet may be substituted for the permanent magnet, if de sired. The guide socket 22 is preferably provided with a flaring. opening so that the deflector may be very quickly and easily placed in position. The socket 12 above described is preferably provided with slots 33 in which are disposed snap springs 32 arranged hold the deflector in position without interfering with its being taken up by the shell as it leaves the gun.

Referring now to Figs. 5 and 6, the shell 14 is here shown as provided with a deflector 25 which embodies a screw or propeller. This deflector 'may be substituted for the deflector 13 of the previous figures and comprises a hub 26, which is adapted to fit onto the shell as shown in Fig. 5, a plurality of arms or propeller blades 27, and an outer ring or deflecting member 28. The arms or propeller blades 27 are formed as shown in Fig. 6 with a pitch corresponding to or a littleless than the, pitch in the rifle of the um, and are interconnected and stiffened hy the outer ring or deflecting member 28, which is coaxial with the sleeve 26 and with the shell so that it offers no material resistance to the movement of the shell through the air orthrough the water, but serves to cause the shell to dive when it strikes the surface of the water at an angle.

The shell is provided with a band 29 which cooperates with the rifling of the gun in the usual manner, the shellbeing of course rotated at high speed as it leaves the gun. Consequently, the deflector is rotated with it and the propeller blades 27 act like a screw in cutting a path through the air or through the water, thus "materially reducing the resistance to flight relative to that of the deflector shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

The propeller rim 28 serves however to deflect the course of the shell as it enters the water.

The arms or blades ofl'er small resistance to the movement of the shell and serve to propel the shell through the water and consequently this form of attachment is particularly well adapted for ShOOtiIlg at bodies submerged to a considerable depth below the surface of the water, as well as for those which are relatively near the surface.

Either of the forms of deflector is adapted to direct the shell in a definite course downward after it strikes the water.

The shell may be provided with any suitable fuse which will explode its charge at a predetermined depth under water.

The deflector is made so that a large proportion of its mass is close to the shell and is made relatively light so that it can be readily taken up'by the shell: and carried forward with it.

Attention is particularly directed to the fact that the center of resistance of the shell with the deflector on it, is behind the center of gravity and this arrangement is very desirable in order to maintain stability of the projectile in flight, and to prevent it from tumbling end over end when it strikes the water. The arrangement and proportioning of the deflectors will depend on the size and form of the shell, the speed at which it is discharged from the n, to what extent it should change its tra ectory when strikin the water, and also upon the percentage 0 the kinetic energy stored up in the shell, which should be utilized.

.The projectile as a whole may be dis charged from any suitable gun or put in motion in any desired manner;

The deflector in order to be eflective without causing the shell to tumble end'over end must be located back of the center of gravity of the shell, but the screw or propeller member may be disposed at any convenient point on the shell.

Attention is directed to the fact that the propeller constitutes a screw and is effective for causing the projectile to enter the water when it strikes the surface-thereof. Furthermore, my invention is not limited to shell attachments, and the projectile as introduced into the gun may embody a screw or like means arranged to cause it to enter the water in combination with means for deflecting its trajectory, causing it to dive as it enters the water.

The struc'tdres illustrated may be varied in various particulars without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and I intend that only such limitations be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A marine deflector attachment for shells comprising a hub adapted to fit the shell, and a propeller member adapted to ofler low resistance to the fli ht of the shell and embodying means eXten ing behind the center of gravity of the shell for deflecting the course of the shell when it strikes the surface of the Water.

2. A marine deflector attachment for shells comprising a hub adapted to fit the shell, and a plurality of propeller blades radiating from the hub, extending back of the center of gravity of the shell and adapted to offer low resistance'to the flight of the shell, the pitch of the blades being dependent on speed of rotation and velocity of the shell.

3. A marine deflector for shells comprising propeller adapted to be picked up by the shell as it leaves the gun, and a cylindrical reinforcing member connected to the blades at their outer ends and arranged to deflect the course of the shell when it strikes the surface of the water.

4:. The combination with a gun, of a deflector attachment and magnetic means for holding the deflector in position to be taken up by the shell.

5. The combination with a gun, of a de flector attachment, an electromagnet mounted on the gun, and a guide socket for guiding the collar into position to be held by the magnetic field of the electromagnet.

' 6. The combination with a gun, of a deflector attachment, and magnetic means comprising a holder and a magnet winding adapted to energize the holder.

In. witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 16 day of November, 1917.

HANS GUSTAV BERENTSEN. 

